Snap plug



l 632 599 l June 14, 1927- G. A, HAYWARD SNAP PLUG Filed Oct. 6. 1925INVENTOR 601,196 A Hayward Patented June 14, 1927.

UNITED sTATEs enonen n..na1rwm,vor wa'rEnTowN, CONNECTICUT.

SNAP ILUG.

l111111111311011 ma mm e, 1925. serial 1u. 00,751.

This invention relates to electric connecting devices, and moreparticularly to a detachable connecting plug adapted to be easily andrapidly pushed into or removed from a standard electric wall socket.

One object of the invention is to provide anA electric -socket plugwhich may be inserted in and removed from a wall socket by la directmotion of translation without any twisting motion whatever.

A further object is to provide a plug yof the` above nature having apair of springpressed balls projecting beyond the surface of the plugfor yieldingly engaging the l5 threads of a Wall socket.'

A further object is to provide a plug of the above nature which will besimple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble andmanipulate, ornamental in appearance, and very eicient and durable -inuse.

With these and other objects inview,there have been illustrated ontheaccompanying drawings, two forms in which the invention may beconveniently embodied in practice.

Fig. l re resents a top plan view of an electric soc et plug embodyingthe invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

I0 Fig. 3 is a sidesectional view showing the plug of Figs. 1 and 2 asit appears when in pos1tion within a'wall socket. l

` Fig. 4 is a side view of an incandescent lamp bulb also embodying theinvention.

In the common `:forms of electric socket plugs now in general use, ithas been customary to provide a threaded shell uponl the outer'surfaceof the plug for engaging corresponding threads on the surrounding wallsocket. One disadvantage of this form of plug was that the continualtwisting necessary to connect and disconnect the plug had a. tendency toproduce snarls or kinks in the cord.

By means of the present'invention, the above and other disadvantageshave been largely avoided. vThis has been accomplished by constructingthe plug in such a manner that it will be unnecessary to twist it when 5connecting and disconnectmg it.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denotecorresponding parts throughout the several views, the first form of theinvention is shown inAFigs.

- respectively.

1, 2, and 3, in which the numeral 10 indicates asubstantially.,cylindrical insulating body member, said body memberhaving a pair of oppositely disposed vertical Side grooves 11 and l12adapted to receive a pair of angular connecting strips 13and 14. Thelower ends of the strips 13 and 14 have binding screws 15 and 16 adaptedto be driven into the' threaded bushings 17 and 18 The binding screws 15and 16 and bushings v17 and 18 form binding posts for a pair ofAinsulated conductors 19 and 20, said conductors being` knotted togetherat 21 and forming part of a two-wire cord 22 leading to any desiredpower-consuming device, not shown. z

In order'to enclose the knotted end of the cord, provision is made of aclosure cap 23 screwed upon the lower end of the body member 10, saidclosure cap 23 having a central aperture 24 surrounding the cord 22. Inorder to provide ample room for the knotted end of the cord, the bottomof the body member 10 is provided with a spherical recess 25. Thisrecess 25 communicates with the side grooves 11 and 12, mentioned above,

by means of inclined passages 26 and 27 through which-the wires 19 and20 are adapted to pass.A

' In order to form a yielding contact with the center terminal of thesocket, the horizontal arm 28 of the angular connect-ing strip 14 isslit longitudinally at two places so as to provide three tongue members29, 30, and 31, Vthe tongue member .30 being raised above the plane ofthe tongue members 29 and 31 and lying parallel thereto. By means ofthis construction, when the plug is in operating position, the centraltongue member 30 will resiliently engage the center terminal of thescrew shell, which is designated by the numeral 32, and is seated in arecess-in a wall 33, as shown in Fig. 3. The tongue members 29 and 31are held rigidly in place by an eyelet member 34 having-its top portion35 headed over upon said tongues 29 and 31. The eyelet member 34 passesdown through an insulating washer 36 and has a lower enlarged anchoringflange 37 adapted to be embedded in the body member 10 during themolding process. The top arm 38 of the connecting strip 13 is providedwith a pair of oppositely disposed arms 39 and 40, said arms 39, and 40being located in suitable recesses so as to lie flush with the topsurface of said body member.

In order to conduct the current from the threaded shell contact of thescrew socket 32, the arms 39 and 40 are provided with a pair ofdepending side strips 41 and 42 adapted to be disposed within recesses43 and 44 on opposite sides of the body member 10. The vertical strips41 and 42 are provided with beveled apertures 45 and 4 6 near theirlower ends through which a pair of metallic balls 47 and 48 are adaptedto project. The balls 47 and 48are pressed outwardly by spiral coiledsprings 49 andl 50, said springs being housed within a pair ofcup-shaped bushings 5,1 and .52 respectively, the open ends of saidbushings being in electrical contact with the strips 41 and 42.

By means of this construction when the plug is pushed straight into aWall socket, the balls 47 and 48 will resiliently press against thethreads of the screw shell 32 and the pluO' will generally come to restat a point where one of the balls lies in a groove and the other ballengages a rib of the screw threads, whereby a good contact will alwaysbe insured, without requiring any rotation of the plug.

In operation, the current from the socket shell will pass through theballs 47 and 48, the spiral springs 49 and 50, the bushings 51 and 52,and the strips 41 and 42, whence it will pass out of the plug throughthe wire 19. The current from the center terminal of the socket willpass down through the resilient tongue member 30, through the angularconnecting strip 14 and out of the plug through the wire 20.

Fig. 4 shows a modified forni of the invention which comprises anincandescent lamp having a bulb 53 and a base member 54, the latterbeing similar to the plug 10 shown in Figs. 1, 2, and In thisembodiment, however, instead of connecting the terminal members 12 and13 to a two-wire cord, thev are joined directly inside the base member54 to the two terminals 55 and 56 leading to the lamp filament 57.

It will be understood that while the invention has been shown by way ofexample as applied to a one-part socket plug, it may be equally wellemployed on a two-part plug within the general scope of the invention.

While there have been disclosed in this specification two forms in whichthe invention may be embodied` it is to be understood that these formsare shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the inventionAis not to be limited to thc specific disclosures but may be modifiedand embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit.In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodimentscoming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new andfor which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In an electric socket plug for non-rotative insertion in an electricwall socket, an insulating body member, a pair of terminal members tobe'connected to a pair of conductors leading to a power-consuming unit,a pair of conducting strips located on opposite sides of said bodymember and being electrically connected to one of said terminal members,a pair of balls projecting through said strips and adapted to engage theshell of said socket, a pair of springs pressing upon said balls, a pairof metallic bushings for receiving said balls and springs, said bushingsbeing in electrical contact with said springs and said strips, and meansfor connecting the center contact ol the socket to the other terminalmember.

2. In a socket plug for electrically connecting the center and threadedshell terminals of an electric wall socket to a pair of conductorsleading to a power-consuming unit, an insulating body member, a pair ofspring-pressed members adapted to yeildingly contact with the ribs andgrooves of said threaded shell, means to connect said springpressedmembers to one of said conductors, means for connecting the centercontact with the other conductor comprising an an ular metal strippassing up through said ody member and having its upper end bentlaterally and formed with a resilient prong to yieldingly engage saidcenter terminal and having a pair of side prongs connected to said bodymember.

8. In a socket plug for electrically connecting a pair of conductors tothe center and threaded shell terminals of an electric wall socket, aninsulating plug member, means on said plug member for electricallyconnecting said threaded shell to one of said conductors, and means forelectrically connecting the other conductor to said center terminalcomprising an angular strip member having a transverse portion` saidtransverse portion having a raised resilient tongue adapted toyieldingly engage said center terminal and having a pair of side prongsconnected to said plug member.

4. In a socket plug for electrically connecting a pair of conductors tothe center and threaded shell terminals of an electric wall socket, aninsulating plug member, means on said plug member for electricallyconnecting said threaded shell to one of said conductors, and means forelectrically connecting the other conductor to said center terminalcomprising an angular strip member having a transverse portion, saidtransverse portion having a raised resilient tongue adapted toyieldingly engage said center terminal, said transverse portion beinganchored in said plug member by means of an eyelet member. 4

54 Ina socket plug for electr1cally connect-- ing a pair of conductorsto the center 'and screw shell terminals of an electric wall socket. aninsulatingr plug member, means for electrically connecting one of saidconductors to the threaded shell of said socket, means for electricallyconnecting the other conductor to said center terminal comprising anangular member connected at its lower end to said other conductor, theupper end of said angular member having a transverse section consistingof two side arms and a raised central prong adapted to yieldingly engagesaid center terminal, and an eyelet member embedded in the material ofthe plurr adapted to engage said side arms `for anchoring them to thebottom of the plug.

6. In a socket plug for electrically connecting a pair of conductors tothe center and screw shell terminals of an electric wall socket, aninsulating plug member, means .for electrically connecting one of saidconductors to the threaded shellof said socketJ means for electricallyconnecting the other conductor to said center terminal comprising anangular member connected at its lower end to said other conductor, theupper end of said angular member having a transverse section consistingof two side arms and a raised central prong adapted to yieldingly engagesaid center terminal, an eyelet member embedded in the material of theplug adapted to engage said side arms for anchoring them to .the bottomof the plug, and a washer for insulating said angular member from saidscrew shell connecting means.

In testimony whereof,k I have axed my -signature to this specification.

GEORGE A. HAYWARD

